Cecilia Baca opened Cecilia’s Cafe in 1999 on the corner of 6th Street and Silver Avenue in downtown Albuquerque, naming it after herself and building the menu around the New Mexican food she learned from her grandmother’s kitchen. She is one of twelve siblings and traces her cooking directly to her family’s traditions, including a red chile made without flour or cumin — a purist’s approach that chile experts have ranked in the highest company in the state. The café appeared in Season 5, Episode 11 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, “Regional Classics,” which aired February 16, 2009. Guy Fieri couldn’t stop eating the chicharrones — not fried pork skins, but hunks of stewed pork inside a warm tortilla with cheese and green chile sauce. He also ordered the sopapillas stuffed with shredded chicken and the whole jalapeño. Cecilia’s Cafe closed in late 2024 after 25 years on the corner. Owner Cecilia Baca cited persistent downtown challenges, difficulty finding employees, and post-COVID changes to the neighborhood as the reasons for closing.
Quick Facts
Restaurant: Cecilia’s Cafe
City: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Cuisine: Mexican / New Mexican
DDD Season: 5
DDD Episode: 11
Episode Title: Regional Classics
Original Air Date: February 16, 2009
Address: 230 Sixth St. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 (former location)
Status: Permanently Closed (closed late 2024)
About Cecilia’s Cafe
Cecilia’s operated in a century-old building in downtown Albuquerque with about ten tables, a wood-burning stove in the winter, pink and turquoise leatherette booths, and the kind of cozy, lived-in character that cannot be designed. Cecilia Baca found a small retablo of San Pasqual on her doorstep on opening day — the patron saint of Mexican and New Mexican kitchens — and it hung near the kitchen entrance for the restaurant’s entire 25-year run. The Fireman’s Burrito, named for the firefighters from Station Number 1 around the corner, became a signature challenge: a ten-pound burrito that required two kitchen staff to handle and 24 hours’ notice to prepare. The café had also appeared on Man vs. Food and Drinking Made Easy alongside the DDD episode.
Last Known Location
Address: 230 Sixth St. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Status: Permanently Closed as of late 2024.
Cecilia’s Cafe appeared in Season 5, Episode 11 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, “Regional Classics,” originally aired February 16, 2009. Cecilia Baca opened the restaurant in 1999. It closed in late 2024 after 25 years of operation.